Alex de Minaur and Alexei Popyrin spark 25-year first for Aussie tennis in Monte Carlo
The winner of Alex de Minaur and Alexei Popyrin will become the first Aussie man to reach the quarter-finals in Monte Carlo in 25 years.
Australian tennis duo Alex de Minaur and Alexei Popyrin have both progressed to the last 16 of the Monte Carlo Masters. The pair will now face off against one another, with the clay court battle determining which Sydney sider will become the first Australian man in 25 years to reach the quarter-finals of the prestigious tournament.
Popyrin was at his scintillating best in his second-round match against defending Monaco champion Andrey Rublev. The Aussie scored a comfortable 6-4 6-4 victory in an hour and 40 minutes, as he kicked off his clay season in style.
"I enjoyed coming out on centre court for the first time. First tournament on clay of the year and I have good memories from clay last year," said Popyrin. "I am feeling really comfortable on it (clay) and happy to beat a guy who was in form, confident and the defending champ. It was an awesome match."
Rublev, who ended de Minaur's run at the Australian Open this year, was well off his game. The Russian coughed up a host of unforced errors, including one on match point that he hit into the middle of the net which resulted in him throwing his racquet down in disgust.
Alex de Minaur thriving on bogey surface
Popyrin's win sets up a mouth-watering encounter with Australian counterpart de Minaur, who didn't do it quite so easy in his match. De Minaur had to fight back from a set down to overcome Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 2-6 6-2 6-3.
The Aussie has notoriously struggled on clay but seems a more complete player this time around, winning two straight matches on the surface for the first time since he reached the semi-finals in Lyon in 2022. With a career record on the clay of just 56 wins and 46 losses, de Minaur says he has focussed on putting on muscle ahead of this year's clay season to prepare for the physicality of the surface.
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"I think with every year of experience I look forward to the clay season even more," de Minaur said after his win against Stan Wawrinka in the first round. "In the past, maybe mentally I wasn't really ready to tell myself I was going to be good on the clay. That, plus I put on a little bit of weight, put on a bit of muscle.
"Claycourt tennis is always so physical and there is a lot of strength involved, so I've put on a couple of kilos and hopefully it helps me this clay season."
The winner of the de Minaur and Popyrin match will become the first Australian to reach the Monte Carlo quarter-finals since Mark Philippoussis in 1999. With the Sydney duo making it through to the last 16, it's the first time any Australian has reached the last 16 since both Lleyton Hewitt and Wayne Arthurs in 2004.
